The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson (Rasmus Anderson translation)
1,062 passages indexed from The Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson (Rasmus Anderson translation)) — Page 8 of 22
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The Prose Edda, passage 585
The following is the reason why gold is called otter-ransom: It is related that three asas went abroad to learn to know the whole world, Odin, Honer and Loke. They came to a river, and walked along the river-bank to a force, and near the force was an otter. The otter had caught a salmon in the force, and sat eating it with his eyes closed. Loke picked up a stone, threw it at the otter and hit him in the head. Loke bragged of his chase, for he had secured an otter and a salmon with one throw.
The Prose Edda, passage 318
43. Ganglere asked: Whose is that horse Sleipner, and what is there to say about it? Har answered: You have no knowledge of Sleipner, nor do you know the circumstances attending his birth; but it must seem to you worth the telling.
The Prose Edda, passage 305
Gere and Freke Sates the warfaring, Famous father of hosts; But on wine alone Odin in arms renowned Forever lives.[54]
The Prose Edda, passage 1036
Skeidbrimer, 73, 200. Skidbladner, 108-113, 189-192, 234, 263. Skifid, 71. Skilfing, 81, 246, 247. Skinfaxe, 66. Skirfir, 71. Skirner, 94, 101-103, 143, 263. Skjaldun, 45. Skjold, 45, 46, 206, 230, 231. Skogul, 99, 252. Skol, 67. Skrymer, 116-127. Skuld, 74, 100, 243, 252, 256. Skule (Jarl), 21-24, 249. Sleeping Beauty, 254. Sleipner, 73, 108-112, 133, 169-176, 259. Slid, 56, 248. Slidrugtanne, 134. Sna, 241. Snorre, 9, 19-27, 221, 226, 233, 239, 242, 243. Snotra, 98. Sokmimer, 245.
The Prose Edda, passage 172
[Footnote 18: Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 8. In Old Norse the sun is feminine, and the moon masculine. See below, sections 11 and 12.]
The Prose Edda, passage 788
The third son, Kare, had a numerous offspring. He had one son by name Jokul (iceberg), another Froste (frost), and Froste’s son was named Sna (snow). He had a third son, by name Thorri (bare frost), after whom the mid-winter month, Thorra-month, was called; and his daughters hight Fonn (packed snow), Drifa (snow-drift), and Mjoll (meal, fine snow). All these correspond well to Kare’s name, which, as stated, means wind. Thorri had two sons, Nor and Gor, and a daughter, Goe.
The Prose Edda, passage 964
The bridge across the river Gjol, near Helheim. GJALLAR-HORN. Heimdal’s horn. GJALLAR-RIVER. The river near Helheim. GJALP. One of the daughters of Geirrod. GJUKE. A king in Germany, visited by Sigurd. GLADSHEIM. Odin’s dwelling. GLAM. The name of a giant. GLAPSVID. A name of Odin. GLASER. A grove in Asgard. GLEIPNER. The last fetter with which the wolf Fenrer was bound. GLENER. The husband of Sol (sun). GLER. One of the horses of the gods. GLITNER. Forsete’s hall. GLOIN. A dwarf. GNA.
The Prose Edda, passage 311
From his horns fall so many drops down into Hvergelmer, that thence flow the rivers that are called Sid, Vid, Sekin, Ekin, Svol, Gunthro, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Gipul, Gopul, Gomul and Geirvimul, all of which fall about the abodes of the asas. The following are also named: Thyn, Vin, Thol, Bol, Grad, Gunthrain, Nyt, Not, Non, Hron, Vina, Vegsvin, Thjodnuma.
The Prose Edda, passage 140
But the asas were wiser, for they see into the future, and, foreseeing his journey before he came, they received him with an eye-deceit. So when he came into the burg he saw there a hall so high that he could hardly look over it. Its roof was thatched with golden shields as with shingles. Thus says Thjodolf of Hvin, that Valhal was thatched with shields:
The Prose Edda, passage 460
When Loke had promised this, he was set free and went to his companions again; and no more is related of this journey, except that they returned home. But at the time agreed upon, Loke coaxed Idun out of Asgard into a forest, saying that he had found apples that she would think very nice, and he requested her to take with her her own apples in order to compare them. Then came the giant Thjasse in the guise of an eagle, seized Idun and flew away with her to his home in Thrymheim.
The Prose Edda, passage 53
Olaf Thordsson, surnamed Hvitaskald,[3] to distinguish him from his contemporary, Olaf Svartaskald,[4] was a son of Snorre’s brother. Though not as prominent and influential as his uncle, he took an active part in all the troubles of his native island during the first half of the thirteenth century. He visited Norway in 1236, whence he went to Denmark, where he was a guest at the court of King Valdemar, and is said to have enjoyed great esteem. In 1240 we find him again in Norway, where he espoused the cause of King Hakon against Skule. On his return to Iceland he served four years as chief magistrate of the island. His death occurred in the year 1259, and he is numbered among the great skalds of Iceland.
The Prose Edda, passage 504
His journey became famous among the giants, and the proposed meeting with Thor was much talked of. They regarded it very important who should gain the victory, and they feared the worst from Thor if Hrungner should be defeated, for he was the strongest among them.
The Prose Edda, passage 85
So it came to pass that they lost God’s name; and in the wide world the man was not to be found who could tell of his Maker. But, nevertheless, God gave them earthly-gifts, wealth and happiness, that should be with them in the world; he also shared wisdom among them, so that they understood all earthly things, and all kinds that might be seen in the air and on the earth.
The Prose Edda, passage 95
And the same God, who is almighty, and who might have struck down all their work in the twinkling of an eye, and made themselves turn into dust, still preferred to frustrate their purpose by making them realize their own littleness, in that none of them should understand what the other talked; and thus no one knew what the other commanded, and one broke what the other wished to build up, until they came to strife among themselves, and therewith was frustrated, in the beginning, their purpose of building a tower.
The Prose Edda, passage 938
Of course the mill got no chance to grow rusty during the next six months, and when harvest-time came, the rich brother got it; but the other man had taken good care not to show him how to regulate it. It was in the evening that the rich man brought the mill home, and in the morning he bade his wife go and spread the hay after the mowers,--he would get dinner ready, he said. Toward dinner he put the mill on the table.
The Prose Edda, passage 1023
Jack, 247, 250. Jafnhar, 81, 243, 245, 246. Jalanger, 207. Jalg, 54. Jalk, 54, 81, 245-247. Jamieson, 16. Japhet, 35. Jarnsaxa, 173. Jarnved, 67. Jarnvidjes, 67. Jat, 45. Jerusalem, 225. Jews, 29. Johnstown, 232. Jokul, 240. Jonaker, 202, 206. Jonsson (Arngrim), 17. Jonsson (Th.), 18, 19. Jord, 65, 100, 174, 175. Jormungand, 91-96, 144. Jormunrek, 202-206. Joruvold, 71. Jotland, 240. Jotunheim, 49, 65, 69, 91, 110, 111, 115, 133, 144, 157, 169, 176, 185, 187, 231, 259. Juno, 40, 250. Jupiter, 41, 42. Jutland, 46, 247.
The Prose Edda, passage 725
Then she went to Jotunheim and bore four sons to a giant, and transformed them into a yoke of oxen, and yoked them to a plough and broke out the land into the ocean, right opposite to Odinse, which was called Seeland, where she afterward settled and dwelt.[119] Skjold, a son of Odin, married her, and they dwelt at Leidre.[120] Where the ploughed land was, is a lake or sea called Laage.[121] In the Swedish land the fjords of Laage correspond to the nesses of Seeland.
The Prose Edda, passage 410
54. Then said Ganglere: A very great wrong did Loke perpetrate; first of all in causing Balder’s death, and next in standing in the way of his being loosed from Hel. Did he get no punishment for this misdeed? Har answered: Yes, he was repaid for this in a way that he will long remember. The gods became exceedingly wroth, as might be expected. So he ran away and hid himself in a rock. Here he built a house with four doors, so that he might keep an outlook on all sides.
The Prose Edda, passage 813
Names like Sidhot = the slouchy hat; Sidskeg = the long-beard; Baleyg = the burning-eye; Grimner = the masked; Jalk (Jack) = the youth, etc., express the various forms in which he was thought to appear,--to his slouchy hat, his long beard, or his age, etc. Such names as Sanngetal = the true investigator; Farmatyr = the cargo-god, etc., refer to his various occupations as inventor, discoverer of runes, protector of trade and commerce, etc.
The Prose Edda, passage 565
How shall gold be named? It may be called fire; the needles of Glaser; Sif’s hair; Fulla’s head-gear; Freyja’s tears; the chatter, talk or word of the giants; Draupner’s drop; Draupner’s rain or shower; Freyja’s eyes; the otter-ransom, or stroke-ransom, of the asas; the seed of Fyrisvold; Holge’s how-roof; the fire of all waters and of the hand; or the stone, rock or gleam of the hand.
The Prose Edda, passage 694
This wonderful expedition of our race-founder, which, by giving a historic cause to all the later hostilities and conflicts between the Teutons and the Romans, might, as suggested by Gibbon, supply the noble ground-work of an epic poem as thrilling as the Æneid of Virgil, has not yet been woven into a song for our race, and we give our readers this full account of Odin from the Heimskringla in connection with the Foreword to Gylfe’s Fooling, with the hope that among our readers there may be found some descendant of Odin, whose skaldic wings are but just fledged for the flights he hopes to take, who will take a draught, first from Mimer’s gushing fountain, then from Suttung’s mead, brought by Odin to Asgard, and consecrate himself and his talents to this legend with all the ardor of his soul.
The Prose Edda, passage 73
It is a deplorable fact that the religion of our forefathers seems to be but little cared for in this country. The mythologies of other nations every student manifests an interest for. He reads with the greatest zeal all the legends of Rome and Greece, of India and China. He is familiar with every room in the labyrinth of Crete, while when he is introduced to the shining halls of Valhal and Gladsheim he gropes his way like a blind man.
The Prose Edda, passage 674
Rolf Krake took gold out of the horn with his right hand, and scattered it over the whole way. But when the Swedes saw it they leaped out of their saddles, and each one took as much as he could. King Adils bade them ride, and he himself rode on with all his might. The name of his horse was Slungner, the fastest of all horses. When Rolf Krake saw that King Adils was riding near him, he took the ring Sviagris and threw it to him, asking him to take it as a gift.
The Prose Edda, passage 904
He impersonated all that was good and holy in the life of the gods; and so it came to pass that when the golden age had ceased, when thirst for gold (Gulveig), when sin and crime had come into the world, he was too good to live in it.
The Prose Edda, passage 1061
JARNVIDJES. The giantesses dwelling in Ironwood. _text reads “JARNVIDJIS”_
The Prose Edda, passage 682
The Enea mentioned in the Foreword to Gylfe’s Fooling refers to the settlement of western Europe, where Æneas is said to have founded a city on the Tiber. Bergmann, however, in his Fascination de Gulfi, page 28, refers it to the Thracian town Ainos.
The Prose Edda, passage 1042
Ud, 81, 245. Uhland (Ludw.), 18, 263. Ukko, 82, 84, 239. Ukko-Thor, 239. Ulfhedinn, 233. Uller, 89, 153, 174, 183, 259, 260. Ulysses, 151, 223. Umea, 250. Upsala, 47, 215, 216, 232, 237. Ural Mountains, 229. Urd, 10, 19, 73, 74, 76, 243, 252-256. Utgard, 118-127. Utgard-Loke, 119-130.
The Prose Edda, passage 246
Then went Skade up on the mountain, and dwelt in Thrymheim. She often goes on skees (snow-shoes), with her bow, and shoots wild beasts. She is called skee-goddess or skee-dis. Thus it is said:
The Prose Edda, passage 993
UD. A name of Odin. UKKO. The god of thunder in Tshudic mythology. UKKO-THOR. A name for Thor. ULLER. Son of Sif and step-son of Thor. URD. The norn of the past. UTGARD. The abode of the giant Utgard-Loke. UTGARD-LOKE. A giant visited by Thor; identical with Skrymer.
The Prose Edda, passage 735
It has been seriously contended,--and it would form an important element in an epic based on the historical Odin,--that a desire of being revenged on the Romans was one of the ruling principles of Odin’s whole conduct. Driven by those foes of universal liberty from his former home in the east, his resentment was the more violent, since the Teutons thought it a sacred duty to revenge all injuries, especially those offered to kinsmen or country.
The Prose Edda, passage 21
Enea 221 Herikon 221 The Historical Odin 221 Fornjot and the Settlement of Norway 239 Notes to the Fooling of Gylfe 242 Note on the Niflungs and Gjukungs 266 Note on Menja and Fenja 267 Why the Sea is Salt 268
The Prose Edda, passage 415
Loke saw that he now had only two chances of escape,--either to risk his life and swim out to sea, or to leap again over the net. He chose the latter, and made a tremendous leap over the top line of the net. Thor grasped after him and caught him, but he slipped in his hand so that Thor did not get a firm hold before he got to the tail, and this is the reason why the salmon has so slim a tail. Now Loke was taken without truce and was brought to a cave.
The Prose Edda, passage 170
Then they took glowing sparks, that were loose and had been cast out from Muspelheim, and placed them in the midst of the boundless heaven, both above and below, to light up heaven and earth. They gave resting-places to all fires, and set some in heaven; some were made to go free under heaven, but they gave them a place and shaped their course. In old songs it is said that from that time days and years were reckoned. Thus in the Prophecy of the Vala:
The Prose Edda, passage 220
17. Then said Ganglere: Great tidings you are able to tell of the heavens. Are there other remarkable places than the one by Urd’s fountain? Answered Har: There are many magnificent dwellings. One is there called Alfheim. There dwell the folk that are called light-elves; but the dark-elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike the light-elves in appearance, but much more so in deeds. The light-elves are fairer than the sun to look upon, but the dark-elves are blacker than pitch.
The Prose Edda, passage 59
It seems, then, that there is no room for any doubt that these two men have had a share in the authorship of the Younger Edda. How great a share each has had is another and more difficult problem to solve. Rudolf Keyser’s opinion is (and we know no higher authority on the subject), that Snorre is the author, though not in so strict a sense as we now use the word, of Gylfaginning, Brage’s Speech, Skaldskaparmal and Hattatal.
The Prose Edda, passage 181
10. Norfe, or Narfe, hight a giant, who dwelt in Jotunheim. He had a daughter by name Night. She was swarthy and dark like the race she belonged to. She was first married to a man who hight Naglfare. Their son was Aud. Afterward she was married to Annar. Jord hight their daughter. Her last husband was Delling (Daybreak), who was of asa-race. Their son was Day, who was light and fair after his father. Then took Alfather Night and her son Day, gave them two horses and two cars, and set them up in heaven to drive around the earth, each in twelve hours by turns. Night rides first on the horse which is called Hrimfaxe, and every morning he bedews the earth with the foam from his bit. The horse on which Day rides is called Skinfaxe, and with his mane he lights up all the sky and the earth.
The Prose Edda, passage 150
4. Said Ganglere: How came the world into existence, or how did it rise? What was before? Made answer to him Har: Thus is it said in the Vala’s Prophecy:
The Prose Edda, passage 850
Their otherwise excellent translation does not render it, except so far as the obvious similarity of certain English and German words involuntarily made them do so. But in the notes to their version of _Macbeth_ the character of the Weird Sisters is also misunderstood, though Warburton is referred to, who had already suggested their derivations from the Valkyrs or Norns.
The Prose Edda, passage 217
Again, it is said that the norns, that dwell in the fountain of Urd, every day take water from the fountain and take the clay that lies around the fountain and sprinkle therewith the ash, in order that its branches may not wither or decay. This water is so holy that all things that are put into the fountain become as white as the film of an egg-shell As is here said:
The Prose Edda, passage 825
It is not definitely stated, but it can be inferred from other passages, that just as the good principle existed from everlasting in Muspelheim, so the evil principle existed co-eternally with it in Hvergelmer in Niflheim. Hvergelmer is the source out of which all matter first proceeded, and the dragon or devil Nidhug, who dwells in Hvergelmer, is, in our opinion, the evil principle who is from eternity. The good principle shall continue forever, but the evil shall cease to exist after Ragnarok.
The Prose Edda, passage 58
He was a wise and very learned man, a great chief and shrewd. He was the first man in this land who brought property into the hands of the king (the king of Norway). He compiled Edda and many other learned historical works and Icelandic sagas. He was murdered at Reykholt by Jarl Gissur’s men.”
The Prose Edda, passage 871
Certain diseases among their cattle are attributed to the elves, and are, therefore, called elf-fire or elf-shot. The dark elves are often confounded with the dwarfs, with whom they, indeed, seem identical, although they are distinguished in Odin’s Raven’s Song. The Norwegians also make a distinction between dwarfs and elves, believing the former to live solitary and in quiet, while the latter love music and dancing. (Faye, p. 48; quoted by Thorpe.)
The Prose Edda, passage 296
38. Gymer hight a man whose wife was Orboda, of the race of the mountain giants. Their daughter was Gerd, the fairest of all women. One day when Frey had gone into Hlidskjalf, and was looking out upon all the worlds, he saw toward the north a hamlet wherein was a large and beautiful house. To this house went a woman, and when she raised her hands to open the door, both the sky and the sea glistened therefrom, and she made all the world bright.
The Prose Edda, passage 727
[Footnote 117: Turkland was usually supposed to mean Moldau and Wallachia. Some, who regard the great mountain barrier as being the Ural Mountains, think Turkland is Turkistan in Asia. Asia Minor is also frequently styled Turkland.]
The Prose Edda, passage 327
He came straightway, swung his hammer, Mjolner, and paid the workman his wages,--not with the sun and moon, but rather by preventing him from dwelling in Jotunheim; and this was easily done with the first blow of the hammer, which broke his skull into small pieces and sent him down to Niflhel. But Loke had run such a race with Svadilfare that he some time after bore a foal. It was gray, and had eight feet, and this is the best horse among gods and men. Thus it is said in the Vala’s Prophecy:
The Prose Edda, passage 468
He was very rich in gold, and when he died and his sons were to divide their heritage, they had this way of measuring the gold, that each should take his mouthful of gold, and they should all take the same number of mouthfuls. One of them was Thjasse, another Ide, and the third Gang. But we now have it as a saw among us, that we call gold the mouth-number of these giants. In runes and songs we wrap the gold up by calling it the measure, or word, or tale, of these giants.
The Prose Edda, passage 899
For a thorough analysis of Thor as a spring god, as the god who dwells in the clouds, as the god of thunder and lightning, as the god of agriculture, in short, as the god of culture, we can do no better than to refer our readers to Der Mythus von Thor, nach Nordischen Quellen, von Ludwig Uhland, Stuttgart, 1836; and to Handbuch der Deutschen Mythologie, mit Einschluss der Nordischen, von Karl Simrock, Vierte Auflage, Bonn, 1874.
The Prose Edda, passage 591
But Hreidmar looked at it, examined it closely, and saw a mouth-hair, and demanded that it should be covered, too, otherwise the agreement would be broken. Then Odin brought forth the ring and covered with it the mouth-hair, saying that now they had paid the otter-ransom.
The Prose Edda, passage 330
Then said Ganglere: A good ship is Skidbladner, but much black art must have been resorted to ere it was so fashioned. Has Thor never come where he has found anything so strong and mighty that it has been superior to him either in strength or in the black art? Har answered: Few men, I know, are able to tell thereof, but still he has often been in difficult straits.
The Prose Edda, passage 240
Breidablik it is called, Where Balder has Built for himself a hall In the land Where I know is found The least of evil.[36]